


The Best Medicine

by countingonthecountess



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 20:02:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15150773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/countingonthecountess/pseuds/countingonthecountess
Summary: When Asra falls ill (not with the Plague, don't worry he isn't dying), it's up to none other than his favourite doctor to treat him.  Or try to, at least.





	The Best Medicine

**Author's Note:**

> HERE'S SOME ASRIAN FLUFF GUYS  
> ENJOY

Ugh.  I hate being sick.  I constantly feel exhausted, and grumpy, and have to stay indoors doing just about nothing until I get better.  And there's no guarantee of when that will be. To me, there is just one upside to being unwell and housebound. That would be the doctor’s house visits.   _ Especially _ when my doctor is none other than Doctor Julian Devorak.

 

I'm sitting in front of the stove with a cup of my favourite tea, wrapped in a rainbow striped blanket, when I finally hear the door creaking downstairs.  It's a good thing he kept that key, as I really wouldn't have felt like going down there to open up myself. The red-haired doctor comes up the stairs, and finally appears in his portentous coat.

“Took you long enough.” I mumble as he sits down next to me.

“Well, isn't someone grumpy today.  Nice blanket, by the way.” I shove him playfully with my elbow, then throw the blanket over him.  “Oh, no you don’t!  _ You  _ need to keep this and stay warm.”

“But it suits you!”

“You, erm-  You think so?  Never thought rainbow was my colour...s.”

“Well, it is.  And we can share it.” I pull half of the rainbow back over me and snuggle closer to him.  We both sit there contentedly for a few seconds before I remember the real reason for his presence and shift away from him slightly.

“Is… Is something the matter?” He looks almost disappointed as the multicoloured blanket slips off his head.

“Yes.  I'm sick and I don't want you to catch anything from me.”

“Me?  Please.  I'm your doctor!”

“Doesn't change the fact.”

“Hmph.  Fair enough.  We may as well see what's wrong with you.  That is, uh. That's what I'm here for.”

 

After several questions and examinations, he stops to reach a conclusion.

“It's a case of bacterial sinusitis.  Not transmittable, and easy to remedy.”

“Okay… how  _ do _ we remedy it, then?”

“For one thing, with a neti pot!  If only I'd brought one today…”

“You had given me one, remember?  I think it's downstairs in the cupboard closest to the door-”

“Worry not!  I'll get it!” He stands and runs down the stairs.  I can hear him rummaging around for the neti pot. The stove salamander peeks out and give me an inquisitive look.

“He'll find it.” I say uncertainly.  I know that he  _ will  _ find it eventually.  I'm afraid he'll accidentally destroy something in the process.  Minutes later, I hear his footfalls as he ascends the stairs. He proudly brandishes the neti pot with a flourish, then sets it down in front of me.

“Quick question.  Why do you have a glowing box full of rats?”

“Those are for Faust.”

“Ah.  Okay. The snake, right?” I nod in response to his question.  The neti pot is already filled with what I hope is saline solution.  “Those glass bottles atop the cupboard  _ were _ filled with water, right?” Nope.  Definitely not saline solution.

“Those… Were acids.  Don't worry, I'll fix it.” Without giving him a chance to head back down to try and find water himself, I concentrate, wave a hand over the aqueous solution and turn it into water with salts dissolved in it.   _ Now  _ it will work just fine.

 

After using the neti pot, my nose is already feeling quite better.  I'm sitting in front of the stove feeding treats to the salamander, while Julian watches in fascination.

“I never understood that thing.  Is it fireproof? Does it create the fire itself?  Does it have any… Magic properties?”

“He never comes out long enough to let me discover those things.  He just does what he does best without revealing his secrets.” Julian takes a treat from my hand and holds it out to the salamander, who stares at it for several long seconds before finally accepting it.

“He ate it!” Julian's eye lights up with delight as he offers the salamander another treat.  A few treats later, he flicks his tail at us and slips back into the warm depths of the stove.  Julian turns towards me. “Your hair is a mess today.” He remarks as he pulls off one leather glove.  I let him ruffle it, smooth it, do whatever he wants to it.

“Uh… What exactly are you doing, if I may ask?” He stops abruptly and pulls his hand back.

“Honestly… I uh.  I was just petting it.  Your hair is really soft.” I quirk an eyebrow, but can’t help the smile I’m trying to suppress.  Honestly, what did  _ I _ ever do to deserve  _ him _ ?  He’s the sweetest person I’ve ever known.  That time we… Well, broke up… That was the worst mistake ever.  And I sure as hell hope it isn’t made again.

 

“Are you… Erm, are you alright?” Julian gently nudges my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah.  I was just… Thinking.”

“Ohh.  About what?”

“About… Us.”  A somewhat panicked look crosses his face for a brief moment.

“In… A good way?  Or a bad way?”

“Well, that depends on how you take it.  To me, though, it’s a good way.” He relaxes slightly and shifts on the ground to face me.  “You see…” My gaze awkwardly shifts to the floor as I speak, “I don’t entirely understand what there  _ was  _ between us, or what there is right now.  But I know what I want there to be.” He listens attentively, anxiously awaiting my next words.  “I… I want us to be together. Officially. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to commit to this.  Clearly, we both messed things up, but we can fix them. If, that is… You want to.” I look up at Julian hopefully, scanning his astonished, reddening face for any sign of a response.  He swallows hard, blinking several times as if he’s having trouble believing what I’ve just said.

“In all honesty…  Never in my wildest dreams did I think you’d be interested in that.” A tentative smile tugs at his lips.

“Well, now I am.  And… I take it that you are too?” The smile stretches into an exuberant grin.

“You bet I am.”

 

He gives me an affectionate peck on the forehead, then stands with a dramatic twirl of his coat to walk over to the bed.

“You know, if we intend on staying on the floor, we should at least sit on a pillow.  I wouldn’t want that perfect ass of yours to get cold.”

“ _ Very _ funny.” He picks up a striped pink and purple pillow and tosses it right at my face.  If it weren’t for my relatively poorly state, I would have caught it, but instead it hits me and then lands at my feet.  I pick it up, a brilliant idea forming in my head. Julian turns with another pillow in his hands, eyeing me with confusion as I get to my feet.

“Are we, uh.  Are we not sitting on the floor anymore?”  I don’t give a response as I charge and whack him with the pillow.  It takes him just a split second to switch to attack mode as well. “So  _ that’s _ what we’re doing now.  You’re on!” We spend several minutes chasing each other around the room, mercilessly fighting each other with our colourful pillows.  I refuse to cease the battle until I finally push him off his feet and onto the bed, forcing him to surrender. That’s when I suddenly remember yet again that I’m sick, and the adrenaline rush from the pillow fight fades away.  I flop on top of him exhaustedly, trying to catch my breath. “Fun as that was, we really shouldn’t have you exerting yourself like that in, ah- In your current state.” I nod, turning my head to meet his soft gaze.

 

A short while later, I’m still lying on top of him, now in a more comfortable position, with my rainbow blanket covering us both.

“So, uh.  Quick question.” Julian lifts his head slightly to speak, “What will that apprentice of yours think of… You know… Us?” The question surprises me.

“Well, whatever it is, I don’t really mind.  But I think ‘that apprentice of mine’ secretly wanted this to happen all along.  For us to get together.” He pauses to consider this.

“In that case, your apprentice has great judgement.”

“Heh, you’re right about that.” For a few moments, I contentedly look at Julian’s beautiful face.  Then, I feel my eyelids getting heavy, and I fail to stifle a yawn. Julian notices and gives me a mildly concerned look.

“You really should get some rest, Asra.” He’s about to try and slip out of the bed so I can have it all to myself when I stop him.

“You can stay.  I’m comfy like this.”

“Well, if that’s what the patient wants…” I shift my position slightly to have my head on his chest and his arm around me.  His breathing and heart rate gradually relax, causing mine to do the same as I finally drift off to sleep.


End file.
